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Block Party: Hip Hop’s 50th Birthday Jam
Aug 11, 2023 @ 12:00 pm
Vikki Tobak is an acclaimed journalist, author, and curator celebrated for her work exploring the intersection of Hip Hop, photography, and visual culture. Her book ‘Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop’ offers a rare glimpse into Hip Hop’s evolution through iconic behind-the-scenes photographs and untold stories from some of the culture’s most pivotal moments.
Vikki’s most recent book, ‘Ice Cold: A Hip Hop Jewelry History’ is an exploration of the cultural significance of jewelry in Hip Hop, tracing its evolution from a symbol of status and success to a powerful form of self-expression.
The book has been widely praised for its rich visual storytelling and was adapted into a traveling exhibition, further cementing its impact on hip-hop history. Tobak’s deep understanding of the genre and her passion for storytelling have positioned her as a leading voice in chronicling hip-hop’s artistic and cultural legacy.
Lenny “Lenny S” Santiago is a highly respected music executive, photographer, and cultural influencer who has played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of modern Hip Hop. From his beginnings as one of the first employees at Roc-A-Fella Records to today as Senior Vice President of Roc Nation, Lenny S has worked closely with some of the biggest names in the industry.
Beyond his executive role, he is a celebrated photographer known for capturing candid, behind-the-scenes moments of Hip Hop culture.
Together, Vikki and Lenny S. brought the ‘Ice Cold’ exhibit to life at the American National Museum of History, showcasing some of the most unique and important jewelry artifacts in Hip Hop history. Many of these items, including Jam Master Jay’s Adidas medallion and chain, Kool Herc’s leather medallion, and Biz Markie’s 1986 “BIZ” nameplate and chain, will now be coming to The Hip Hop Museum.
I caught up with Vikki and Lenny S. to discuss hip-hop and jewelry, some of the most iconic pieces in the ‘Ice Cold’ collection, the 90s era of record label chains, and much more.
Adam Aziz: I wanted to ask about the ‘Ice Cold’ exhibit and why the American National Museum of History was the right place to host the exhibit.
Vikki Tobak: The project was a book first, and Lenny also had many photos in the book. We had connected and were working together on that anyways. And the way it came to the museum was interesting. You know, one of their curators who did their Cartier exhibit is also a big fan of jewelry and got a hold of the book and was like, this would be an amazing exhibit. She put the bug in their ear, and they reached out. It was a happenstance. We had a little fairy godmother for turning the book into an exhibit, but it was the perfect place because it’s in New York. It has the Hall of Gems and Minerals. Putting this story in the Hall of Gems and Minerals was really important to give it this bigger context.
It was also a place where many of the artists in the show used to go on field trips when they were kids.
AA: Two pieces in the collection stuck out to me—Jam Master Jay’s Adidas medallion and chain and Biz Markie’s nameplate and chain. I was hoping you could tell me a bit about their special nature.
VT: Getting pieces for the show, it’s one thing to get a photo of them for a book, but it’s another thing to earn the trust and relationships to get people to lend you their pieces.
I can’t say enough how instrumental Lenny was in helping procure the pieces. Also Pete Nice with a lot of his old school connections. And so Biz and Jam Master Jay’s pieces, I mean, not only are both of those artists super iconic in the jewelry world for Hip Hop, but it was difficult because so many old school pieces don’t exist anymore or have been lost. Those two were definitely holy grails. Anyone who grew up on Hip Hop, including Lenny, those were iconic, and you grew up idolizing those pieces. Having them and sharing them with the world is huge.
Lenny S.: Vikki makes a great point. Because as a young kid, I’m from the Bronx and grew up in Hip Hop. And two of those I’m fans of; I have pictures with each of them, if I’m not mistaken, and especially with Biz, I think he has the piece on. Full circle moment. What I’m saying is not even about me, for any kid, for anybody who listened to Hip Hop, or who grew up on Hip Hop; these are in The Museum next to the gems section. These are our artifacts. Hip Hop is 50 years old. To find a piece from 30 or 40 years ago, and to be able to put it on display, I don’t know. That thing has nothing to do with, you know, either Vicky or myself. That’s just an incredible statement for Hip Hop. It’s bigger than us.
AA: While working on this project, did you find any specific story or moment that stood out?
L: So many. The Ghostface eagle.
VT: So many artists, especially the younger generation, are really excited and understand the importance of this show, like A$AP Ferg; he’s someone that once Lenny talked to him and unlocked the whole thing, he got it. He also comes from a design background. And he was like, my jewelry is your jewelry, like, what do you need? And so the excitement and that connection, I think of the newer generation, understanding that jewelry is just one touch point in the history that connects them to the business, and the Jam Master Jays of the past was just really cool to see.
L: Ferg comes from A$AP Mob. These are guys who looked up to the Roc-A-Fellas, the Dip Sets, the guys who are into fashion, music, art, history, and so on. So like Vicki said, once we were able to speak to them, cause some people were hesitant, you know, hey, give me your jewelry for a year, you know what I mean? That sounds pretty insane. Until you break it down and let them know it’s safe, it’s insured, it’s a part of history, it’s going in a Museum where it’s never had Hip Hop represented before. To understand all the different levels and facets of Hip Hop and layers of Hip Hop, you know, Ferg gave us his Tiffany jewelry, personal jewelry, and Yams jewelry.
AA: One of the most iconic eras for Hip Hop jewelry, at least from a visibility perspective, was the 90s, primarily because everyone wore record-label chains. Am I missing it, or did that area kind of go away? And is the reason it went away because the music industry changed?
L: Great question, by the way. You’ve watched The Godfather, right?
AA: Yeah.
L: Okay, so stuff like that, right? Even the mafia at that time were like families. I’m not even condoning what was done, but I’m just saying the name they stood on that, and that’s what it was about. It’s about the family. It was about unity and whatever that meant for them, right? And it’s the same with the labels, whether it was Cash Money, No Limit, Bad Boy, or Roc-A-Fella, no matter who it was.
A lot of those companies start as a family. I can’t speak for all of them, but I know coming from one, from Roc-A-Fella, being a part of a family, knowing what that Roc chain meant, what that logo meant, that’s what it meant for many of those people. And not to say that it doesn’t exist anymore, but it’s there with OVO. I see a million guys wearing owl chains. It’s there with TDE. It’s there with a few companies. But again, those companies are ones that have a really large entity, whether that’s family or community. There’s not a lot of CEOs anymore. You know how Ruff Ryders started; those two guys put those groups together. Who found The Lox? Who found Eve? Who found DMX? And that’s what made those things families. And you are proud to wear that family emblem. And I just think like, you know, with independence and not having as many crews anymore, you kind of just lost that feeling.
VT: That’s exactly on point, and maybe the style has changed a bit, like how people wear their jewelry. However, we have two kinds of more recent label chains, QC (Quality Control) in the show and PRE (Paper Route Empire), which are both oversized and flooded out. And those two, even though they’re more recent, are more reminiscent of the 90s style.
AA: There is an artist named LaRussell from the Bay Area who has a verse on a DJ Drama song where he says, “I see through the smoke, I see big chains on lil’ men/I can see the diamonds tryna hide the lack of dental plans.” How do you think about or consider that some artists may prioritize jewelry over other things like investments and health?
VT: I feel like that line is laden with a lot of judgment and racism. How do you know these artists aren’t also buying a house and dental plan? You don’t see young crypto guys or a young Mark Zuckerberg being asked these questions. Often, people asking these questions don’t understand the power of growing up without and the path to being able to buy yourself something that is wildly powerful.
Look at artists much older who built generational wealth, even someone like Jay. You could point to all the things that he bought himself early in his career. But now, you better believe his whole family is good. And he is philanthropic. He’s all these things that people don’t see.
L: Yeah, I totally agree. And, of course, Vikki, you know it exists, right? Like Kanye once said, he went to Jacob with twenty-five thousand. It’s more so about these kids who never got that kind of money in their lifetime to be able to buy themselves something nice. But then also, it’s relative. If you had asked the Native Tongues, nobody would have probably been into jewelry or wanted to buy jewelry. They were into other things. But from Jay’s perspective, it’s a different relevancy, like he was a hustler. He said, “Chains are cool to cop, but more important are lawyer fees.”
And by the way, there’s nothing wrong with anyone who’s never had it to get a nice chunk of money and splurge, you know, and that happens to be, you know, with our community, jewelry and fashion and clothes, you know, cars and stuff like that.
VT: Nas has this great line where he says, “By the time you can afford it, the car isn’t important.” I always thought that was so dope because it opens up this portal like, okay, I’ve got this, but there is so much more. There’s so much more to go, and it unlocks this feeling of wanting or lack that shuts off once you can have anything.
AA: Is there any particular piece in the collection that means a lot to either of you?
L: I can talk about the label pieces. The Roc-A-Fella chain logo means the world to me and will forever mean something to me. Every piece is personal to people. From Just Blaze, who had no kids and wife at the time and all he did was produce beats and play video games, he made a controller chain. Some are silly, and some are deep.
VT: There are two pieces, and we had them together. It’s the Yams piece, the Yamburgini piece from Ferg, which was also hung right next to the Joey Badass Capitol STEEZ piece, which commemorated his good friend who passed away. Both of those pendants speak to another way that people use jewelry, which is to commemorate and immortalize people who are no longer with us. And so those two pieces are really special.
L: We should add one more. At the last minute, we received Fat Joe’s Terror Squad piece. He had just done it with brand new diamonds and camouflage because his friend of over forty years, Raul, his right-hand man, had passed away right before the exhibit, and Raul always wore camouflage.
AA: And finally, what is the most iconic jewelry era in Hip Hop?
VT: They’re iconic for different time periods. You can’t say Jam Master Jay’s pendant is more or less iconic than the Roc-A-Fella pendant? They were made years apart.
AA: What about the most everlasting era, then? What era still reverberates today?
VT: I think the ’90s will always reverberate because it caught the ’80s old-school stuff, and it brought the spirit and opened up what was coming.
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